Gita, lesson 8: self-awareness, intelligence and a disciple's request

What sets us apart from other animals? Swami Dayananda Saraswati opened the eighth lesson in the series with that question, tying it to the moment when Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita, asks Krishna for help.

What sets us apart

Body and instinct are not exclusive to humans. Every species fears death and seeks pleasure. What is distinctive about our species is unchecked self-awareness, from which reflection, moral judgment, pride, shame and ambition arise, but also complexes and the ability to reject oneself.

Intelligence as wealth

By this logic, the greatest human wealth is buddhi, the faculty of reasoning, discerning and choosing. If it is not used to examine who this "I" is, it is like a fortune no one ever spends. The reflection extends to possessions. Freedom, Dayananda suggests, lies in being able to let go of what one has; whatever cannot be let go ends up possessing its owner, whether money, reputation, title or knowledge.

The request

Arjuna recognizes that he knew the teachings but never applied them. He tells Krishna he no longer knows what is right, declares himself weak and confused, and accepts him as his teacher. For Dayananda, this is where the relationship between master and disciple begins. Arjuna does not ask for practical advice or a blessing: he asks for clarity, because he has realized his real question is knowing who he is.

Pleasure and the greater good

Here a distinction is drawn between preyas, what is sought in the world and is fleeting, and śreyas, the greater good, tied to clarity and liberation. Behind money, status, religion and even heaven, there would lie a desire for security and self-acceptance that no external pursuit satisfies in any lasting way. The claim is that the problem is not the lack of something, but the idea that something is lacking.

The full study is in the book The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Dayananda Saraswati.